The Government Accountability Office, at the request of Sen. Jon Ossoff, is launching an investigation into the policies and practices of Justice Department law enforcement task forces. Ossoff, who chairs the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on human rights and law, is particularly concerned about how the Justice Department oversees its task forces, many of which include local police officers. The GAO will focus its examination on the FBI, ATF, DEA, and U.S. Marshals Service to clarify federal policies surrounding these task forces and determine how the Justice Department provides oversight, especially for local officers deputized with federal powers who work on these teams.
NBC News published a series of stories in December highlighting the lack of accountability for federal law enforcement agencies and local officers granted federal powers who serve on task forces. One of the stories detailed the difficulties faced by local prosecutors trying to convict an officer from Georgia in the 2019 killing of Jimmy Atchison. Atchison was shot by an Atlanta police officer serving on an FBI task force. Ossoff, along with Jimmy Hill, Atchison’s father, and Gerald Griggs, president of Georgia’s NAACP, view the GAO investigation as a step in the right direction towards addressing issues surrounding these task forces and bringing accountability to the forefront.
The shooting of Atchison occurred in January 2019 when Atlanta Police Officer Sung Kim fatally shot the unarmed 21-year-old who was hiding in a neighbor’s closet. Atchison was wanted on a local warrant for stealing a purse at gunpoint. Local officers on federal task forces were not equipped with body cameras at the time of the shooting. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged Kim with murder in 2022, but Kim successfully petitioned to move his case to federal court due to his involvement in a federal task force, making it harder for prosecutors to secure a conviction.
According to a NBC News analysis, Atchison was one of 223 people shot by federal agents, task force officers, or local police assisting with Justice Department law enforcement cases from 2018 to 2022. In nearly all cases, the shootings were deemed justified by local authorities. Only two shootings, including Atchison’s case, resulted in criminal charges against officers. Over the past three decades, local prosecutors have attempted to convict federal agents or task force members in similar cases but have been unsuccessful, as federal laws and Supreme Court decisions often result in these cases being dismissed upon moving to federal court.
Sen. Jon Ossoff’s request to the GAO seeks clarity on which Justice Department task forces involve local officers, the accountability mechanisms in place for these officers, and how the agency addresses conflicts that may arise with differing rules for local versus federal enforcement officers. Ossoff is particularly interested in understanding the extent to which state and local law enforcement practices are restricted while officers are participating in federal task forces. The Georgia NAACP has been campaigning for new federal legislation or Justice Department policy to prevent local police officers charged with local crimes from transferring their cases to federal court, a practice that often results in leniency in prosecution.
